Stats

Lifespan

4-7 yrs

Size

Small

Diet

Insectivore

Activity

Nocturnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Freshwater wetland

Range

North America

Movement

Hopping

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Toxins

Status

Common

About

A tan-to-brown frog with two neat rows of squarish dark spots down its back, easily distinguished from leopard frogs by the bright yellow-orange wash on the underside of its hind legs. When handled, it can secrete a mildly toxic skin substance that deters most predators.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A jelly-coated egg is laid in water and develops over days into an aquatic larva.
2. 2.
   tadpole

   A gilled tadpole swims and grazes on algae, slowly absorbing its tail and growing limbs.
3. 3.
   juvenile

   A near-adult amphibian leaves the water with new legs and lungs, smaller than the mature form.
4. 4.
   adult

   Fully grown at adult size, breathing air.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Amphibia

Order

Anura

Family

Ranidae

Genus

Lithobates

Species

Lithobates palustris